31 January 2006

The rapidly developing enthusiasm for community websites has fuelled the unprecedented rise to fame for the band known as the Arctic Monkeys.

The official site of the band has been recognised as one of the most visited band and artist site in the whole of the country.

According to research from the web monitoring company Hitwise, searches on the band increased by 62 per cent ahead of the release of their debut album.

And figures from the Official UK Charts Company have revealed that their album is the fastest-selling debut album of all time, easily defeating the previous holder of the title, the short-lived reality TV band, Hear'Say.

The meteoric climb in popularity has been partly put down to their website where chat rooms and blogs encouraged the growth of an online fan base for the band.

"Blogs and chat rooms can be a venue for consumers to rant about a negative experience but can provide opportunities to build awareness of a product, service or, in the case of the Arctic Monkeys, a band," explained Heather Hopkins, director of research at Hitwise to the website Netimperative.

The second most popular website was for the band The Ordinary Boys, whose lead singer, Preston, was one of the stars in the recent Celebrity Big Brother.

Hitwise also confirmed that the use of online communities is flourishing, with the sector growing by roughly ten per cent year-on-year across the UK in December.

© Adfero Ltd

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